Erik, Raven, and Hamlet
by AnyaLehnsherr
Summary: Erik and Raven discover they have more in common than either would have thought. Set some time during First Class while they are at the mansion.


Erik often felt embarrassed around the others. He knew he was intelligent, and there were some subjects about which he was quite well-educated. But his formal education had been cut short by the events in his childhood. There were many elementary things he had never learned.

He didn't feel so bad when it was Hank talking. No one other than Charles could even attempt to keep up with Hank's intellect. The same applied when Charles would catch himself babbling about genetics. Moira was polite enough to nod and pretend she followed, but Raven would often cut him off and remind him no one but Hank had any clue what he was talking about. The same happened as they ate dinner that night.

"Hey, I was enjoying having some stimulating conversation around here," Hank said.

"Stimulating for you, maybe. The rest of us wanted to fall asleep," Alex remarked.

"He's always told the best bedtime stories. Forget Rapunzel and Snow White. Those will keep you awake because they're interesting. Charles' thesis always puts me straight to sleep," Raven added.

"Thank you, Raven. What a loving sister I have. And what a thank you for all those times I helped you sleep."

Of course, in the natural fashion with a table where both Hank and Charles were seated, an innocent comment about fairytales developed into an in-depth conversation about literature. Hank desperately wanted to return to intelligent conversation. Alex and Sean looked bored, but were both capable of contributing to the conversation. Erik just sat there. He hadn't read much in the fiction department. He hadn't seen the point in it, and he hadn't gone to high school, so there was no one forcing him to.

"Come on, Erik. We all answered. What's your favorite work by Shakespeare?"

Erik had never read or seen any of Shakespeare's plays. He was lucky it was Shakespeare. He may not have had much formal education, but he hadn't lived his entire life under a rock (though that might have been preferable to the horrors of Auschwitz). He wasn't an expert, but he knew some titles. He figured there couldn't be a wrong answer to an opinion question like that.

"_Romeo and Juliet_," he spat out. It was the first title that popped into his head.

"Ooh, a lover boy," Alex joked. Erik guessed the best thing to do would be laugh and roll his eyes. He knew that would be the expected thing to do.

Later, after he was sure everyone had gone to sleep, Erik snuck into Xavier's library. He shook off the bitterness he felt: this man had a library in his childhood home, while he had been prohibited from public establishments such as libraries during his childhood. There were so many books. Fiction and nonfiction. Everything from mysteries to science text books was there. Erik didn't even know where to begin. Then he saw a book labeled "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare." He figured he should at least read the play he claimed was his favorite.

He sat down and turned to _Romeo and Juliet_. After a few pages he had decided that no matter what else Shakespeare had written, this was not his favorite. He turned over to _Hamlet_, another title he had heard of. Then he heard footsteps and the door opening. It was Raven. She looked just as surprised to see Erik as he was to see her.

"Oh. Erik, it's you. I thought everyone was in bed."

"So did I. What's keeping you up?"

"Why are you in the library?"

"I asked first, Raven."

"You'd just laugh at me."

"Try me."

"I was embarrassed."

"About what?"

"I didn't have anything to say at dinner tonight."

Erik thought about it for a moment. He had been so focused on the fact that he didn't have anything to say that he hadn't noticed Raven had been silent too.

"You didn't study Shakespeare either?"

"I didn't really go to school. I wasn't great at controlling my power when I was a kid. If I got too tired, stressed, scared, angry, or anything like that, something would happen. Sometimes my eyes would change color on their own, sometimes I'd get taller in an instant, things like that. Charles didn't want me to go to school. He said it would be dangerous for me to go out until I could control it. He taught me things. I already knew my numbers and letters by the time I came here, but he had to teach me almost everything else. I spent a lot of time in this library learning whatever I could, but I still find myself left behind a lot."

Erik was stunned for a moment. It beyond rare for him to feel understood. Of course, their circumstances were different. He couldn't feel too much pity for a girl who had lived in a mansion. But he understood everything she was saying: being afraid to go out because you were born different, not being able to go to school like a normal kid, having to figure things out on your own, and feeling like life had left you behind. Raven misinterpreted his silence as judgment.

"I knew you wouldn't understand."

"Raven, I'm not being quiet because I don't understand. It's because I do understand."

"How could you? Your mutation never made you look different."

"Charles never told you why I left Germany, did he?"

"No. What does that have to do with anything?"

Erik smiled. He had trusted Charles with his past, and if Charles hadn't even told Raven, Erik was confident he wouldn't tell anyone else.

"My mutation wasn't the issue. It was my people. I'm Jewish. When I was twelve, I was sent to Auschwitz. That was in 1944. I had to quit going to school long before that. After I was finally released, I couldn't go back to school. There was so much I missed in those years. I had to educate myself too."

"Erik, I had no idea. I'm so sorry."

"Raven, don't let other people force you into comparisons. You are stronger and smarter than they will ever understand."

"I'm not that smart."

"Do you consider me stupid because I don't know Shakespeare?"

"No. Of course not."

"Then why do you apply such a standard to yourself? You and I never had the opportunity to learn Shakespeare, but we learned the much more important skill of educating ourselves and pulling ourselves up out of dark situations."

"I know. It's just, I wish I had the Shakespeare and stuff too."

"Well, it's never too late. We'll learn together. These are meant to be acted out. You can read the women's parts and I'll read the men's parts."

Raven and Erik stayed up together reading _Hamlet_, making sense out of the old English together. For the first time in her life, Raven felt smart. For the first time since his childhood, Erik felt understood. Together, they felt like they would no longer be left behind.


End file.
